Utah State kicker Dominik Eberle misses out on Lou Groza Award

Utah State football kicker Dominik Eberle fell short in his preseason quest for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to college football’s best kicker. Eberle was a finalist for the award along with Auburn kicker Daniel Carlson and the award’s winner, Matt Gay of Utah.

In his first season in full charge of the placekicking duties, Eberle hit all 45 of his extra-point attempts along with hitting 16 of 18 field goal attempts, with a long of 52 yards. The product of Nuremberg, Germany currently holds a 88.9 field goal percentage on the season, which would suffice for a Utah State single season record.

Fellow finalist Carlson finished the regular season a perfect 54 of 54 on PAT attempts, plus 21 of 28 on all other field goal attempts. The award’s winner, Gay, concluded the regular season with a 37 of 37 mark on PAT attempts, and 27 of 31 on all other field goal attempts.

Eberle’s first chance to avenge his loss in the award’s voting will be on December 29 in the Arizona Bowl versus New Mexico State. Currently, Eberle’s 16 field goals on the season ranks tied for sixth in Utah State history for a single season.

With two more years of playing eligibility beyond 2017, the Aggie sophomore will also have two more attempts to take home the award.